Wave (contactless payment system)

2024: Product Announcement

The National Payment Card System (NSPK) in October 2024 introduced a new technology that allows contactless payments using an iPhone without using ApplePay. The solution, called "Wave," is based on Bluetooth Low Energy technology and works both online and without access to the Internet.

NSPK General Director Dmitry Dubynin said that the technology provides contactless payment within a short range relative to the terminal, which allows you to identify the payment in a way previously inaccessible to the iPhone in Russia.

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Freepik

A feature of Volna is the ability to make payments at a slightly greater distance from the terminal compared to NFC technology, while not requiring accurate positioning of the smartphone. The new system will require special payment terminals of a new type that support this technology.

Dubynin noted that about 20 banks have already expressed their readiness to test the new technology. After the completion of the pilot stage, NSPK plans to transfer the development to banks for integration into their mobile applications, which will allow offering customers a new payment method.

The development of Volna was a response to the termination of Apple Pay in Russia after the imposition of sanctions in 2022. Previously, iPhone owners lost the ability to use contactless payments through the built-in NFC module, which created significant inconvenience for users.

In addition to iPhone owners, the new technology will be available to users smartphones based on. Android This is especially true in connection with the termination of work Google Pay Samsung Pay in Russia, as well as the removal of the application from the Mir Pay official application store after the imposition of sanctions against the NSPK.^[1]

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